Thermal transpiration flow heat pump

Abstract

A thermal transpiration flow heat pump includes an evaporator that vaporizes a medium, a condenser that condenses the medium, and a medium transport unit that is provided between the evaporator and the condenser. The medium transport unit includes a medium-temperature heat source portion that is placed on a side of the evaporator, a high-temperature heat source portion that is placed on a side of the condenser, and a thermal transpiration flow pump that is placed between the medium-temperature heat source portion and the high-temperature heat source portion.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A thermal transpiration flow heat pump, comprising:
 an evaporator; 
 a condenser; 
 a medium flow path for circulating to the evaporator a medium, which has been condensed by the condenser to a liquid phase; and 
 a medium transport unit that is provided between the evaporator and the condenser, wherein: 
 the medium transport unit comprises:
 a medium-temperature heat source portion that is placed on a side of the evaporator and comprises a medium-temperature heat source flow path through which a medium-temperature heat source flow flows; 
 a high-temperature heat source portion that is placed on a side of the condenser and comprises a high-temperature heat source flow path through which a high-temperature heat source flow flows; and 
 a thermal transpiration flow pump that (i) is placed between the medium-temperature heat source portion and the high-temperature heat source portion, (ii) has a pore size of less than or equal to 10 times a mean free path of the medium at a saturated vapor pressure, and (iii) generates a thermal transpiration flow of the medium from the side of the evaporator to the side of the condenser by a temperature difference between a medium temperature of the medium-temperature heat source flow on the side of the evaporator and a high temperature of the high-temperature heat source flow on the side of the condenser; 
 
 the evaporator (i) stores the medium circulated through the medium flow path in the liquid phase and (ii) causes, when an internal pressure of the evaporator is reduced by the medium transport unit, the medium in the liquid phase to be vaporized to a gas phase whose saturated vapor pressure equals the reduced internal pressure; and 
 the condenser (i) causes, when an internal pressure of the condenser is increased by the medium transport unit, the medium in the gas phase transported from the side of the evaporator to be condensed to the liquid phase at a saturated vapor pressure equal to the increased internal pressure and (ii) stores the medium condensed to the liquid phase. 
 
     
     
       2. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the thermal transpiration flow pump has a structure in which a temperature difference is provided between ends of a porous structure or porous plate, and 
 a pressure difference is generated from a high-temperature side toward a low-temperature side. 
 
     
     
       3. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 1 , wherein
 (i) the medium-temperature heat source portion is formed from a thermal conductive substance which is provided in direct contact with a surface of the thermal transpiration flow pump on the side of the evaporator, (ii) the medium-temperature heat source portion has a thermal transpiration flow path of the medium extending from the evaporator toward the thermal transpiration flow pump, and (iii) the medium-temperature heat source flow path is spatially separated from the thermal transpiration flow path of the medium, and 
 (i) the high-temperature heat source portion is formed from a thermal conductive substance which is provided in direct contact with a surface of the thermal transpiration flow pump on the side of the condenser, (ii) the high-temperature heat source portion has a thermal transpiration flow path of the medium extending from the thermal transpiration flow pump toward the condenser, and (iii) the high-temperature heat source flow path is spatially separated from the thermal transpiration flow path of the medium. 
 
     
     
       4. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 2 , wherein
 a plurality of stages of the medium transport unit are connected to set a predetermined value of a pressure difference between a pressure on the side of the evaporator and a pressure on the side of the condenser. 
 
     
     
       5. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 3 , wherein
 on the side of the evaporator, a cold heat is output which is at a coolant temperature of the saturated vapor pressure corresponding to the reduced internal pressure and which is lower than the medium temperature of the medium-temperature heat source flow; and 
 on the side of the condenser, the medium is condensed in compensation of the pressure reduction on the side of the evaporator, and a hot heat is output which is at a temperature lower than the high temperature of the high-temperature heat source flow and higher than the medium temperature of the medium-temperature heat source flow. 
 
     
     
       6. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the medium is a substance having a saturated vapor pressure at a temperature of less than or equal to 50° C. of less than or equal to 1013 hPa, and a vaporization latent heat of greater than or equal to 10 kJ/mol. 
 
     
     
       7. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 6 , wherein
 the medium is one of water, methanol, and ethanol. 
 
     
     
       8. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the medium-temperature heat source flow and the high-temperature heat source flow are each a liquid flow or a gas flow. 
 
     
     
       9. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 8 , wherein
 the high-temperature heat source flow is a heat source flow that continuously executes heat recovery from a waste heat source. 
 
     
     
       10. The thermal transpiration flow heat pump according to  claim 5 , wherein
 the cold heat which is output from the evaporator is used as cold heat for air conditioning.